Campus clubs: Catholic Connections looks to unite people from all faiths

By Mason Poepperling
Staff writer

Starting college can be a strange event. Being thrusted into an entirely new place, around entirely new people can be jarring, and it can be hard to make connections with people that you’ve never met before.

There are several clubs to help Hutchinson Community College students meet people of similar interest, and one of the newer ones is Catholic Connections. 

Formed by Landon Eilert, Beloit sophomore, alongside Molly Stahl, HutchCC speech instructor, the original idea for Catholic Connections was for any Catholics who were new to HutchCC to come together and feel more at home in a new environment.

Over time, however, the club has opened its arms to more people outside of the Catholic faith.

“The way I see our club is that we’re a way to bring together Catholics,” Eilert said. “We’re definitely here for Catholics who feel out of place, or are adjusting to a new life, but we also want to include other religions. We love everybody.”

Stahl agreed with Eliert, saying being Catholic isn’t a requirement to join the club.

“Catholic Connections is a group of amazing students that all got together and decided that they wanted to connect with each other here at HCC, regardless of backgrounds to share fellowship, give back to the community and have fun,” Stahl said.

With its main goal of connecting HutchCC students of all backgrounds, Catholic Connections has managed to spread their activities to many different areas outside of regular campus meetings.

“We do things outside of HCC, like helping out at the soup kitchen,” Stahl said. “We’re also setting up a kickball tournament. It really just depends on the day.”

At the end of the day, however, despite its name, Catholic Connections is a place for anyone who feels like they might not have a place on campus to meet other students in the same position they’re in. If any student out there is looking for a club on campus to make genuine friendships, Catholic Connections might be the club for them.

“We love everybody, we invite everybody to join us no matter what their religion is,” Stahl said. “The more the merrier.”

Visits: 290